New fountain, revamped park introduced at The Avenue Viera

By Chris Bonanno

Published: September 7 2018

Ella Nessel is the first child to play in the new pop jet fountain in front of AMC Theaters at The Avenue Viera.

VIERA VOICE Jill Blue

Patrons at The Avenue Viera will have the opportunity to experience new amenities at the complex moving forward as the complex has renovated its Central Park and added a new children’s pop fountain in front of the AMC Movie Theaters complex.

“One of the things that we’re trying to do is create a sense of community for the people that come here, said Kevin Cedik, general manager of The Avenue Viera. “We obviously have great shopping, we have dining and we have entertainment. All of which we are adding and we continue to grow on. But, we wanted to add some more amenities to the site to give people another alternative to do while they’re here.”

The renovations to the park, Cedik said, have opened up more space in the area. It also, he said, opened up more space for what he calls “soft seating” and gives organizers more flexibility for events.

Diane Thomas and Dawn Garrison, co-owners of Empower Fitness, located in The Avenue, both expressed excitement for the revamped park.

“I think it’s amazing. It looks beautiful and I think it’s just going to draw in a whole different clientele as well as the existing Viera clientele,” Thomas said. “It will bring other people in. …. It’s a family setting, but it’s also like a Central Park setting. So, it’s almost like an urban city-type feel.”

“I can definitely see myself bringing my kids here. My husband and I just sitting and relaxing and enjoying an evening out. It’s beautiful,” Garrison said.

The pop jet fountain features a number of different streams of water that periodically shoot up from the ground with the streams routinely changing colors as well.

“The pop-up fountain over there I think is going to draw a lot of kids with a lot of moms,” Thomas added.

The new additions were officially unveiled at an Aug. 16 ribbon-cutting ceremony.

In addition to the ribbon-cutting ceremony, The Avenue also celebrated the new openings with activities on Aug. 18 and 19 that featured face painting, live music and games for children according to Cedik and The Avenue Viera’s Facebook page.